Advertisements for the gym, the new series of Death in Paradise and the FA Cup third round: January is not short of annual tradition, and in the legal world the yearly cycle once again turns towards Divorce Day.
DD was once a staple of radio and TV discussion shows desperate for a talking point in the post-Christmas lull.
Those appear to have subsided somewhat, but law firms are keeping the fire burning by sending near-identical press releases about how the first working day back after New Year is a boom time for divorce lawyers.
The format is almost always the same: the firm will trumpet how it has uncovered new statistics (usually last year’s stats rehashed) that show this is the day to beat all days. There will usually be a quote from a family lawyer whose Christmas was interrupted to approve a soundbite like ‘we know the festive period can place a strain on couples, and this is the time of year when many decide to call it a day’.
As an antidote to this stuff, we admired this year's Divorce Day release from Charles Russell Speechlys, which admitted that the trope of couples seeing out Christmas and then making a fresh start was an oversimplification.
As partner Sarah Jane Boon said: ‘There are many contributing factors to a divorce and approaching the subject of divorce (or even separation) is usually a long and drawn-out process, not one that is decided and acted upon in a matter of days or weeks.’
Actually most statistics show there is no particular spike for divorce applications at this time of year – and indeed the numbers in January to March 2024 were down 11% on the same period in the previous year. But still the DD emails arrive.
As long as media outlets desperate to fill website space with clickbait are willing to swallow this stuff, some law firms will churn out the Divorce Day lines. But it doesn’t half make for a depressing read when you open the New Year inbox.
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